Virginia Law Would Protect Seniors Against Financial Crimes

Bipartisan legislation headed for passage in the Virginia General Assembly may help protect senior Virginians and other vulnerable adults against financial fraud, by further empowering financial institutions to combat this exploitation, reports WTVR . "We're all getting older, there are more of us and we've got to watch out for each other," said Del. David Toscano (D-Va.). "This bill helps encourage banking institutions to do that." The House and Senate bills would allow financial institutions to "refuse to execute a transaction, delay a transaction, or refuse to disburse funds" if the institutions have a good-faith conviction that the "transaction or disbursement may involve, facilitate, result in, or contribute to the financial exploitation of an adult." Toscano noted that sometimes, seniors are exploited by some relative or caregiver by taking them to the bank and removing cash from their accounts. Once the cash is removed, it's hard to get it back. So this gives lending institutions some more teeth to make sure that they're not giving away the money of folks who are being exploited and can essentially stop it before it happens." The proposal also would grant immunity to an institution's staff from civil or criminal liability for denying the processing of transactions or for reporting suspicious financial activity, provided such actions are followed with due cause.